Jen and I bought three additional prairie dogs last week. She had lost one earlier this year, and I wanted to get another one so that mine would have more of a family. I would also have more redundancy in the event that tragedy struck the household. Jen didn’t plan to have more than one, but I didn’t want to have my new one be isolated while I waited to get some stool tests done, to prevent her from accidentally introducing any diseases into the other cage.

Unfortunately, we had decided to find another [good] home for, what turned out to be, the one little male in the group. This was based on Dr. Seaberg’s recommendation, as heterogenous communities tend to lead to distemperment once the members reach sexual maturity, even if the genders are separated.

In addition, there was still the fact that our two would have to be inevitably split-up when it came time for Jen to take her Journey home, and hers would have to be alone, as well as mine. Aside from the normal loneliness that could be expected, my new one, named Widget, is somewhat younger than the rest, and has been struggling. So much more will be the struggle when she’s stuck without the warmth or community of another dog for a couple of weeks.

So, we decided to pick-up another two, today. For at least a little while, there will be a group of four happy little rodents. After that point, they will retain at least one close family member to help them develop.

You’ve never seen four happier prairie dogs sniffing, touching teeth with, and piling on top of each other.